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Gamification, 20time and the flipped classroom -

I've blogged about my use of gamificationhere, here, here, here and here. I've blogged about 20%time here, which led to my personalised learning approach which kicked off here, then here and here, followed up by a 'leashes not required' post here and a conclusion of sorts here. Flipped Learning never got a look in, I added that to flip you in. So do any of these approaches work? I now teach in Early Years and have been thinking if I could use any of them within this stage of learning. I haven't got an answer for that yet, but hope to in due course. The aim of this post is to look back and measure the effectiveness of the approaches against learning gains.

Flipped ClassroomOkay, I admit it now. I’ve never used the flipped ‘model’ in my classroom, although I have used parts of it as a basis during many lessons that I have taught. I want to get this one out of the way before you deluge me with complaints. I'm not sure whether the flipped classroom learning model is effective or not. What I will say about it is this - isn’t it just homework in another guise? Pre-preparation leading to the same flipped presentation presented again the next day therefore defeating its purpose? And for what?GamificationAh, the cool one, flavour of the month and last month come to think of it. But is it effective? Well... that’s up for debate. As a way of grabbing your class, it’s extremely effective. I created the following video to ‘grab my class’ at the start of my Gamification teaching and learning process. Believe me when I say it hooked them, they couldn’t wait to start ‘learning’ but on reflection that was nothing more than a lesson starter albeit a damn fine one at that. I had grabbed the class in 1 minute and 23 seconds and could focus my teaching on what they had to learn. Gamifying the learning involved the class ‘playing through’ the learning, accessing next levels to achieve the ultimate goal - my learning objective. To be honest, it’s a lot of effort, it’s great fun, but an awful lot of effort. I have no demonstrable proof that teaching using a gamification process improves learning. Does it improve the learning experience? Absolutely, without question (I dare you to argue, you naysayer, you) but I’m not sure the actual use of the approach does. I can say that my enthusiasm in using the approach did have a positive effect on learning.If you go down this route, prepare yourself for a lot of additional planning hours to ensure the success of a gamified learning experience.20time20time is derived from Google and their use of 20% free time with its employees - they use this time to delve into their own projects which will benefit the company (half of Google’s tools released in 2005 were derived from 20time). I decided to use this idea in my class by giving my class time to develop their own ideas and interests in learning. I grew the idea into a personalised learning approach for every child in my class, each received a PJ (personal journey) at the start of every week based on their individual learning needs. I taught lessons in chunks here and there throughout the day, not in specified timetabled lengths, for example, children would ask me for additional teaching in a Maths concept whilst others were doing their 20time or completing their English work. My Teaching Assistant was doubtful at first, but found the approach more beneficial. Do read the posts linked above to gain a full understanding of the approach. I can say that combining 20time/personalising learning/projects with a focused teaching of skills is a very effective teaching and learning method. Why? Here you go.

Positive learning assessment gains across the whole class

What to do

Don’t ask yourself which you should use, ask yourself whether or not you and your class will benefit from these methods. I implore you to do your research, find out as much as you can about each of these methods before even considering them. Do not jump on the ‘teaching flavour of the month bandwagon' and hope it works for you and your class. I found 20time/personalising learning to be the most effective at that time with that class. Will I use it again? Of course I will. Will I use the other methods, that’s doubtful. But we owe it to ourselves as teachers to keep ahead of what we do, to build upon our teaching using research and experiences we learn from others.

Has a gamified / 20time / flipped classroom benefitted your teaching? Has your class benefited from them in their learning?

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About Me

In my spare time I play guitar and have performed in many pubs in the places I have lived. I am also a drummer and I have played in 4 bands over the years - Down to Victoria, EQ, The Wedding Band and Lepanto Sessions. I started drumming when sitting in a pub one night, I was tapping along to 'Double Trouble', a blues band. My mate asked if I could drum, I nodded yes even though I had never ever played on a drum kit before and next thing I knew, I was in my first band, Down to Victoria.

Teacher?

I got into teaching quite by accident. I only ever wanted to paint and draw and had even got my own art studio in Derry. After another year 'on the dole' (unemployed) and making not much selling my paintings, I started voluntary work at my old primary school teaching kids art. I was supposed to stay 1 week and ended up there for 4 months, not just giving Art lessons but then 'teaching' other subjects. I graduated with a BA hons in Primary Education in 1996 and the rest is history.

I am also a Google Certified Teacher and an Apple Distinguished Educator.

Circles I'm interested in.

Education

Teaching

Technology

EdTech

Learning

Music

Art

What do I use G+ for?

I use it just in the same way as I use Twitter - to share ideas, stories, tips and resources for teaching and learning. I also post about my interests so no cats here. I find Twitter to be very limiting for discussions, debates and extended conversations, it ends up usually like a bar brawl with everyone shouting to be heard and the original topic of conversation is lost. G+ holds conversations together and with embedded media that brings it alive. G+ is a much better social experience.